Running With the Shadows
by animefreak114
Summary: Semi AU, set before the Uchiha massacre. "He had seen that face before, hadn't he? Yes, yes he had-on that bloody day five years ago." Upon completing his mission for joining ANBU, Itachi makes an unlikely discovery that takes him down a path even he didn't completely envision. Has characters and elements of Bleach but not nearly enough to be a crossover. Warning! Darkfic!


**A/N: Welcome all to one of my more recent inspirations ^^ as I've said in the summary this well have elements of Bleach in it, but hardly enough to be considered a cross over fic. Yes this is semi-AU if you haven't figured that out but I do have plans to stick as close to the canon as I can. Other than that a few pre—chapter warnings I feel I must issue before we can get this show on the road.**

**1). Not a bubbly romance. Yes there will be some romantic undertones as the story progresses, but nothing for quite awhile. This will be quite a dark fic that examines the more morbid undertones of the Shinobi world. While romance does tend to be a prevalent part of human nature and life it's by far NOT the entirety of it which is something I feel most fanfic authors tend to forget when they're writing for their favorite ship. **

**2.) This first chapter isn't going to be too exciting to read if you ask me but I need it for the story. Mind you I've taken the liberty to diving into the head of one very anti-heroic Uchiha prodigy so if he's not stoic or assholish enough for you then there is such a thing as a back button. Remember the stoic, anti-social persona is in fact a defense mechanism commonly found in someone going through PTSD. And from someone quite familiar with such a trauma—I'd say he's got it bad. **

**With all that junk outta the way I do not own Naruto or Bleach or any other references to other fiction that may or may not be present within this story…**

**So let's begin shall we?**

_Had he and I but met  
By some old ancient inn,  
We should have set us down to wet  
Right many a nipperkin!_

_But ranged as infantry,_  
_And staring face to face,_  
_I shot at him as he at me,_  
_And killed him in his place._

_-Thomas Hardy_

* * *

_He was a man who believed that there was nothing in this world that couldn't be seen if people didn't try to actually look first. In spite of all he had seen and done in his short but seemingly long life, he had still clung to that belief. But he also knew there was a damn good reason why people looked the other way._

_Some things were too painful, too dangerous to look at; especially for extended periods of time. How long could one stare at the sun before their vision became overwhelmed and caved in on itself? _

_As a child he had always been praised on being perceptive. It was an inherent talent of his to see the hidden side of things everyone else seemed to miss. It was when he was sent to the front lines for reasons he barely understood, that for the first of many times he would come to curse that ability. Since then he had learned to master another psychological art—repression. _

_But in sleep there are no secrets. _

_He was barely eight again, standing among a field of the dead. Both enemy and ally lay slain as one upon the rusty terrain._

_Even within his own haunted sub-conscious he had a hard time sorting out the details: Almost as though the years of suppression had muddled the events. Everything was skewered; he couldn't sort the "what happened" from the "what seemed to happen". Every sprung trap, every cry, every drop of blood spilt, the sound of steel on steal, the pulse of chakra, it all seemed to weld together. Even as he saw it in his young mind's eye it hadn't seemed right. It was as though he flew outside himself. It made everything so surreal as if he were trapped within a dream of a dream. Genjutsu? If he was that desperate to escape reality he could buy it. Too bad life wasn't nearly as merciful. _

_He was breathing hard, the hardest he could ever remember breathing in a long time. The sweat rolled of his small body in waves, causing his already stuffy uniform to cling to his form like a second skin. A man lay below his tiny visage wheezing in pain, desperately trying to cling to his last segments of life. Someone had dug a kunai into his chest and was still clutching the cold steel resolutely even as the lifeblood had gotten onto his fingers. _

_His eyes bled red for the first time when he realized that that someone was him..._

_Eight years old and he had killed a man…_

* * *

To say that Itachi flew out of bed was an understatement. By the time he was coherent enough to realize that _no he was not back in that terrible place_; he noticed three things.

One: he was on the floor in an offensive stance with a kunai in hand.

Two: his Sharingan was active.

Three: the door to his room was opened and his mother was just outside his room, giving him a troubled look that clearly said _I saw the whole thing_.

"Itachi," her voice, though gentle, was careful, guarded. She had a right to be unnerved to see her eldest son practically jump out of bed from deep sleep in the early hours of the morning with a killer intent. Had she been a little closer…

Inwardly he shuddered to consider that possibility.

His vision returned to normal as he gave a perturbed sigh, unceremoniously dropping his offensive stance and returning the kunai to a spot underneath his pillow. He didn't bother climbing back into bed. Instead he settled for sitting on the floor. Seconds later his mother was sitting on the floor beside him.

"You didn't take one of those sleep aids tonight?"

"Hn."

"Even though you needed the night's sleep?"

"I need to be able to wake up earlier than normal even more ."

"…This isn't going to work anymore Itachi. Medication isn't going to permanently rid you of your nightmares. You need to talk to someone. It doesn't have to be me and we both know it _certainly _doesn't have to be your father, but at the very least _someone_. Pushing this down isn't going to help you in the long run; I know you're smart enough to see that. What are you going to do when you're officially in ANBU and you stop to rest for a mission? Even Shinobi need sleep my son, and popping pills will only take you so far."

As per typical of his mother, she wasted no time in getting to the heart of the situation. Then again the no-nonsense attitude was a given in most of their family.

"I'm aware of that mother, but for now there's nothing I can do about that situation. My mission tomorrow holds a great deal more importance."

She gave a huff and mumbled something under her breath about Uchiha men that had Itachi quirk a brow in mild amusement before fully regarding him again with a warm smile.

"You're right your mission tomorrow does take precedence. But remember something my son, from one Shinobi to another some missions, even the not so life threatening ones, can be dangerously easy to fail, especially when you put them aside for another day."

He knew damn well she wasn't scolding him. Yet he still couldn't hold back the clench in his jaw as the veracity of her words rippled through him. She rose from her position beside him and made for the slide door. Before she left she turned to regard him with a maternal look he'd grown so attached to in his younger years.

"Like I said, I know your father. He isn't the type to talk about things, but if you ever need someone to talk to then I'm all ears. I am your mother after all."

A small smile made its way to his lips as he gave her a soft good night. Once she left he'd figure he could try to take a quick power nap before he got up for a few hours for the most crucial mission in his life as a Shinobi thus far.

His mission to assure he'd get into ANBU black ops.

* * *

_Flashback: Uchiha District—11 days ago_

_"I'll be accompanying you on tomorrow's mission."_

_No surprise there. He somewhat figured his father would say that, however…_

_"You understand how important tomorrow is, don't you?" _

_Though he didn't show it outwardly, Itachi felt no small amount of surprise to see the black of his father's eyes bleed red with the emerging Sharingan. _

_When he told Sasuke of the importance regarding the Leaf military police force, he told him only the half-truth at best. At worst, the notion was optimistic naivety. Most in his clan saw it as a cage. The illusion of importance was there to shut out the fact that they were being isolated from any real position of power. The ANBU were the unit of elite Shinobi under the direct command of the Hokage. Not since before the Second Hokage were there actual Uchiha within ANBU. From an outsider's perspective, Itachi could see the sense in that. Why would such a mistrusted Clan be allowed to have connections so close to the nerve center of the village? _

_The entire situation left him unnerved; why him? Why now? Was there another importance to his joining of ANBU Black Ops that only his father seemed to see?_

_Like anyone who had mastered pushing their feelings down deep, deep, within themselves, Itachi let none of these thoughts show on his face. Not even to his flesh and blood. _

_"You don't have to worry about that," he stated calmly before looking back to Sasuke…_

_End Flashback_

* * *

_Present Location: Outskirts of Rain Country, Midday:_

When he told his father not to worry, he meant it.

When it came to home, to his family, to quiet life in the village, there were many things Itachi just _wasn't_. He didn't have Shisui's charm, nor did he possess his father's honesty. Even in his own clan he was somewhat of an outsider, socially withdrawn albeit awkward at times. Most would say he was a pretty unapproachable guy.

But in the field of battle it was a different story. Here none of those moments, those feelings were present. He had no reserve when talking about tactical knowledge, no reserve about working with others, or leading men. Not since he was very young had he truly felt anything other than a serene indifference when faced with the possibility of failure bloodshed, and death.

The current mission of interest involved him and a team of experienced black ops journeying to a small town just within the borders of the Rain Country. A band of assassins had infiltrated the Fire Country not too long ago under the clever disguise of harmless vagabonds. While they were eventually discovered the main issue at hand is the fact that they had _gotten away_.

And more importantly—what they had gotten away _with_…

* * *

_Flashback: Hokage's Office—10 days ago_

_"Apparently these guys were discovered by accident just after leaving the village. The ninja in question who discovered them was quite ill prepared to handle the situation. By the time we received the information and an urgent request for backup, he was already dead. Furthermore the message had relayed that they had taken off with a scroll which they protected quite adamantly."_

_"Any information regarding what's inside that scroll?"_

_The Hokage shook his head._

_"Nothing as of now. However judging by what we do know, it's safe to say that whatever lay inside that scroll is the primary reason why they infiltrated the Fire Country to begin with."_

_" And this is a job for ANBU because..? Surely if that's all then a squad of Chunin or Jonin could handle this case. Furthermore, is there any reason to believe that there's something of great danger within that scroll that could be used against us?" _

_The ANBU to Itachi's left questioned the third. His expression was hidden behind a fox mask and his tone devoid of any emotion. _

_"The prevailing problem, Kazu-chan, is that we have no reason to believe there __**isn't **__something catastrophic hiding within that paper. There are a lot of unknowns within this mission which can easily put it at S-Rank." _

_Their team captain responded in a whimsical voice. His face too was hidden beneath a hound mask, but Itachi, along with any well seasoned Shinobi of this village, would recognize that shock of silver hair anywhere. Or the subtle smell of wet dog that seemed to be stuck on following the man wherever he went. The thought pulled a smirk from Itachi's lips under his mask. _

_"It's Kazuya you bastard!" _

_"Technically it's 'Fox' since you're on duty and wearing the mask," quipped the ANBU wearing a tiger mask to Itachi's right._

_"Who asked y-."_

_A clearing of the throat from the Hokage had soundly put an end to their banter._

_"Kakashi is right. The potential danger to not only the village but to the Land of Fire itself is dauntingly high. Therefore this matter needs to be handled with the utmost urgency and digression, something ANBU is known for. Secure the scroll and bring the assassins responsible back, alive if possible for questioning. We need to know what's going on behind this game of smoke and mirror, am I understood?" _

_ "Yes Lord Hokage."_

_Four voices said as one. _

_Flashback End_

* * *

After a little over a week's worth of traveling had brought them to their destination. It was a harmless, albeit small village located just on the edges of the Rain Country. Civilian from the looks of it: prosperous enough to sustain its inhabitants but still too poor to afford its own military force to uphold any sort of civil order which indicated a fair level of lawlessness. Places like these were a haven for wandering crooks or rouge ninja.

Which was why he and his team remained less than surprised to find themselves smack in the middle of what looked to be a vicious brawl between scores of these cretins.

The sounds of explosions, of metal on metal, the screams of the innocent irrevocably caught in the middle of this deadly crossfire; if Itachi wasn't used to such sounds he'd have no doubt he wouldn't succeed this mission much less come out of it alive.

But he was perfectly calm in the midst of this calamity. So were his teammates.

"Oi Captain! Got any idea what in the blazes is going on?!"

Well most of them were anyway…

"In short, Kazu-chan, _a shit-storm_."

The copy ninja responded as he used his Ninjato to parry away the oncoming shuriken before weaving signs in what looked to be for an Earth-Style attack. As he used his mud wall to block a Water-Style Ninjustu assault from the first two assailants to his front, two others came around from behind, preying on the blind spot he blatantly left them.

Or so they thought.

As expected, he saw through their counterattack which became painfully obvious to his opponents when their blades met with wood instead of flesh. Just then, one unfortunate crook found himself flying soundly through the air, courtesy of one mean right hook.

Before the other two could respond, they found themselves incapacitated by an impressive array of Wood-Style justu. The other two from Kakashi's front had wound up in a fierce scuffle with an obviously irate Kazuya.

Yet such a victory hardly seemed to scratch the surface of the battle taking place here. There were at least a good dozen of potential enemies left. At least four of them were the targets they search for, but the rest literally came out of nowhere. From their underhanded physical combat to the hidden blades stashed within their obscuring cloaks, Itachi could be fairly certain that almost all of them, besides his team, were assassins.

From what he knew of them they were wanderers with loyalty to no one, other than to the clients who bought their services: deeds that involved murder as part of the job or sometimes even, the job itself. Shisui had morbidly joked one time that they were Shinobi minus the sense of integrity. To them, the means were justified, if there was a profit to be had at the ends.

From that, the Uchiha easily surmised that he and his team weren't the only ones after the scroll those four had absconded away with. Other assassins had caught wind of what was going on. And so now, they fought amongst themselves in a contest to see who would deliver the precious cargo first and get the money for it. Itachi really had no qualms about that. If they wanted to kill each other over this, then by all means save him and his team the trouble.

Amidst the calamity four assassins in particular had surrounded Itachi. Though their cloaks hid their identity well, he had no doubt this was the original gang that had infiltrated the Leaf, and ultimately had what he and his teammates desired.

One of them in particular had foolishly decided to confirm his suspicions.

"Hm I know those masks...And those uniforms. You're ANBU right? Even in our world your lot's pretty infamous for being underhanded, and cruel when it comes to completing your objectives; the worst of the worst in your respective villages. Though I'd say their standards have slipped to let a kid such as yourself into their ranks. Tell me ANBU brat, are you from the land of fire? If so, I bet you're after this."

He pulled out the objective of his mission from his cloak and dangled it tauntingly in front of the Uchiha. Even from under the hood of that robe Itachi could catch a glimpse of something that looked like a _tongue_ waggling at him mockingly. Idly he noted the tattooed design of what looked to be some sort of seal at its fleshy center.

"Nnoitora you idiot! Way to pop off at the mouth! Do you plan on telling him about our client too?! Fucking shit for brains!"

A most feminine voice shouted to her colleague. The hooded figure called Nnoitora snorted. Itachi's Sharingan paid careful note to his lanky arms as the hand holding the scroll withdrew into his cloak, stowing the precious item away. Simultaneously, he pulled out another scroll and summoned a huge, albeit oddly shaped weapon not even a second later. He began spinning the blade almost effortlessly with one slender wrist.

Despite his lanky form he seemed to hold a good deal of brute strength if he was able to twirl that thing so effortlessly. That or it wasn't nearly as heavy or clunky as it looked. Itachi felt more inclined towards the former.

"What, it's not like a little punk like him's getting outta this one with his life intact right? Seriously can we just give this little brat a spanking and move on for the day before _the real problems over there run out of targets!?_"

Even beneath the layers and layers of calm, almost cold-blooded countenance Itachi felt the twinges of a childlike irritation at this man's attitude towards him. Regardless, the brute was right.

The time for talk was over…

With a speed the gangly assassin "Nnoitora" couldn't have began to anticipate from him, Itachi had his Ninjato drawn across the man's chest in a rapid diagonal slash that drew a generous amount of blood. If his Sharingan hadn't already told him that his opponent was more than prepared to counterstrike then it would've been that crude smirk his assailant gave him just after he swung his bizarre weapon at him. As fast as he could, Itachi stepped out of the blow, and away from the blows the other three assassins were trying to simultaneously deal him.

The female that Nnoitora had conversed with, turned out to be the most troubling of them all. At some point a swift kick to the face from her had shattered his mask and sent him reeling back a few feet. Obviously trying to press her advantage at his surprise she charged forward looking at him dead in the eyes only to find herself trapped in a potent Genjutsu.

"Dammit NEL!" Nnoitora screamed before retrieving his fallen companion and making a hell for the leather. Itachi also noticed that the other three were gone as well. He made a move to pursue them as he saw his fellow teammates do the same. Fifteen minutes into chasing them and turning up empty did his captain call them to a halt within yet another open area.

"What's wrong captain?"

His teammate on his left side softly questioned their leader; the one Itachi had witnessed using Wood-Style Ninjustu from before.

"Their chakra signatures have all but disappeared. If they haven't left the area period, by this point then they're making it damn hard for us to find them. In that case, a moment to assess the situation is in order, especially since there's a slight possibility we may be walking into a trap. That being said…"

He trailed off, turning his direction to Itachi, whom offhandedly remembered that his mask was smashed to pieces by that female from before. The one called Nel…

"I belief you peeled off something of value from that previous assassin before their retreat, am I correct?"

Despite himself, Itachi was somewhat impressed. During that encounter with Nnoitora he managed to abscond that all important scroll just seconds after he had slashed the assassin's chest. He had made sure that the movement was so fast and light that not even the assassin would notice, and from his behavior, Itachi would surmise that he hadn't. Despite the fact that Kakashi was fighting his own battle a few feet away and still took note of that fact when the other had so easily missed it…

"Yes you are."

Came the short, neutral response as the Uchiha pulled the scroll from the inside of his vest, not completely, but enough for his teammates to see. The one called Kazuya snorted from underneath his mask.

"Well that was easier than I thought. Mission accomplished right? I'd say we haul ass back to Leaf ASAP before those guys realize they're missing something important."

This time it was Kakashi who spoke up.

"Let's not be so hasty Kazu-chan, don't forget we still need to bring back those criminals for questioning. With that in mind, I'm proposing we split up from here. Itachi will see to it that this scroll makes it to the Leaf while myself, Tiger, and Kazu-chan pursue the enemies."

"Are you sure about that, sir?"

"Absolutely. Even with my Sharingan I'm unable to assess the contents of the scroll. This suggests that it is most likely made from a special paper, imbued with sealing justu among other techniques to prevent unwanted eyes from discovering its secrets. We neither have the time nor the resources to divulge its contents here and now. Besides as Kazu-chan pointed out earlier, it shouldn't be long before they realize they're missing something important. Additionally, Itachi's mask was destroyed and that exposure of identity can potentially hinder our mission if he continues to travel with us. Even if he should come under attack on the way back I have no doubt he can handle himself. Are we clear then?"

The three ANBU acquiesced to their captain's orders. Not long after did Fox start to speak up again.

"Oh and one more thing Captain—I thought I told you to stop calling me 'Kazu-chan' dammit! You're not even supposed to be using my name when I have the mask on anyway. Besides it's fuckin creepy. I feel like I'm being hit on or something…"

Itachi didn't need to see Kakashi's face to know he was definitely smiling in amusement to his teammate's discomfort. Almost lazily he walked up to an agitated Kazuya and threw his arm around the man's shoulders.

"Don't flatter yourself _Kazu-chan _I'd have to be significantly plastered before I ever considered hitting _on you_. And protocol only applies to your official name. So unless you have plans to change your name to 'Kazu-chan' then, as long as you work with me, I guess you're just SOL, right _Kazu-chan_?"

Tiger snorted in suppressed laughter under his mask and it was all Itachi could do to keep from rolling his eyes at his Captain's antics. Kazuya shoved the copy ninja off of him with an unfriendly growl.

"Asshole. Can we just get this show on the road already, before this little heart to heart get's any more annoying?"

* * *

Two days since their meeting Itachi found himself jumping from tree to tree in a fair sized forest roughly five days from the Leaf. Not once had he stopped to rest despite his body's complaints. It was only during an early twilight that night when a lapse in concentration had caused him to nearly lose his footing on a limb that he realized how big of a mistake that was.

Aware of the alarming fatigue spreading through his limbs, he cautiously made his way down to the lush forest floor. Not but a few minutes later he sat somewhat lazily at the base of an enormous tree, the scenery in which he camped in would be all but invisible to those carelessly going through the area. As an extra precaution he used what little reserves of strength he had to mask his chakra signature to that of the life surrounding him. Someone would have to be seriously looking for him if he was to be found.

Yet, despite that, and his alarming fatigue it still wasn't enough motive for his stinging eyes to fall shut. It was an observation that hardly surprised him. Sleeping issues were a given with the Uchiha heir. And that was under the most normal of circumstances when he found himself in his room at the compound rather than alone in an unknown forest with the possibility of assailants on his heels.

_"You need to talk to someone…"_

His mother's words echoed in his head. It wasn't as though he hadn't tried. As unsociable as he was, even he had people he could call his friends. He had Kakashi, and his cousin Shisui. He told them what he could and no more. Surprisingly neither of them had pressed him for more than he offered and his intuition told him it was because they _knew _what he went through—and what he was still going through. But even that hadn't been enough.

He didn't lie to himself about what he was, and what life had shaped him to be: a child soldier. At a delicate age he was thrown into a life and death environment of kill or be killed. Despite the blood, the guts, the gore, the screech of metal on metal, or the screams of the people around him, he managed to come out alive—he had _survived. _

It was that survivor within him that was so unreasonable. It was that part of him that not only looked for danger where none was, but _lived _for it. This wasn't entirely unusual for Shinobi. According to his cousin most every ninja went through this phase of their life and rarely did it ever leave them—he just drew the short straw by being born into the wrong house during the wrong damn era, and happened to get it earlier than what was considered normal.

It was during this point of inflection that he caught the glint of something within the grass not but a few paces from his sandaled feet. With a mixture of curiosity and caution, he approached the object or more specifically _objects_. They were two cyan blue hairpins in the shape of hibiscus flowers that undoubtedly belonged to a female. Someone had probably dropped them when passing through the area. But who was this someone, he wondered. Was it a Kunoichi from a ninja village or was it…

He found his musings soundly interrupted when he felt something smash itself quite firmly into his side.

The survivor within him reacted almost instantaneously, not even bothering to let him stew in his own surprise at how someone actually managed to sneak up on him. Within seconds he found himself on top of his attacker with a Ninjato pressed to their throat just as firmly as he felt a kunai pressed to his own. As he looked over his assailant with a much clearer head he froze.

_Messy and matted orange-auburn hair and burning silver eyes…hadn't he seen that somewhere before..?_

Yes, yes, he had—roughly five years ago on that bloody day…

**_To be continued… _**

**A/N: There you have it, the first chapter. Fave or follow at your desire. Commentary is adored and always welcome, constructive criticisms included.**

**_Animefreak 114 Clocking Out!_**


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